Glance Back

After a year and a half absence, the horse-shaped weathervane is back atop the Brighton water tower. Dave Stannard and Ed Mineart put it back up yesterday evening.

Utilities was the central theme of Wednesday night’s Washington City Council meeting.

The first utilities discussion concerned proposed water and sewer rate increases. City administrator Dave Plyman prepared an ordinance amendment that would increase water rates by 3 percent and sewer rates by 4.5 percent. The rate increases suggested would apply to the monthly minimum charges, in addition to increases to volume rates.

BRIGHTON — Just under 40 local residents filed into Brighton City Hall last night, fired up over rumors that the City Council had plans to unfairly punish riders on horseback who rode their animals in town.

20 YEARS AGO

By this morning, 15 people had tossed their hats in the ring for the new associate judge position in the Eighth Judicial District, and three people had offered themselves as possible Washington County magistrates. Local candidates for the associate judgeship are Rick Bordwell of Washington and Bob Engvall of Kalona, Washington County’s current magistrate.

WELLMAN — The city has a building to sell — and not just any building. Wellman is selling its Centennial Building, which was used during the city’s 100-year observance in 1979.

WAYLAND — The city of Wayland has established a comprehensive curbside recycling program as part of a commercial agreement with Jim’s Sanitation of Washington for collection tentatively to begin Aug. 1.

30 YEARS AGO

The Washington County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the destruction of $800 worth of light fixtures at the Kalona City pavilion. According to authorities, unknown persons entered the structure and ripped the light fixtures out of their sockets.

CRAWFORDSVILLE — Kenneth Rhea and Arvid Anderson attended the State American Legion Convention at Dubuque from Friday until Saturday.

RICHLAND — Patty Stephens is the town 1983 Woman of the Year, as selected by the Jaycee-Ettes. She is the first Jaycee-Ette to win the award.

40 YEARS AGO

CRAWFORDSVILLE — A wind and hail storm whipped through here last Wednesday afternoon and caused considerable damage in the form of broken windows, downed telephone lines and uprooted trees. Crawfordsville was apparently the victim of an isolated storm which struck at about 4:30 p.m. and dumped an inch and a half of rain in about 45 minutes.

Cattle prices at the Washington Livestock Auction reached a whopping $53 a hundredweight today, market officials report. The all-time high, which coincided with prices at national markets, was paid to local producers Wally Evans, Jack Erwin and Darrell Egli. The previous top on cattle was $49.90.

Mr. and Mrs. Grover V. Rosenkild, and Jim, were honored at a farewell dinner at the Captain’s Table, Thursday. Rosenkild, who has been soil conservation technician with the local SCS office the past 27 years, has been transferred to the office in Iowa City. Mrs. Rosenkild was honored at the Y-Wives coffee, Tuesday.

50 YEARS AGO

Mr. and Mrs. James Frier and family are spending the week at a family camp at the Baptist camping grounds at Ventura, near Clear Lake.

Margaret Wilson and Dora Blieu left yesterday for Chicago to spend a few days visiting their aunt, Dr. Virginia Moldenhauer.

Mrs. Cloyd Garrett left from Davenport last night on the bus to go to Somerville, Pa., where her mother, Mrs. Ira Brocius, is seriously ill.

Comments (1)

Posted by: Glen Peiffer | Jun 23, 2013 22:41

by Thomas Sowell

"Back in the 1970s, the hysteria was about global cooling..."

"Science," they say, has now "proved" that global warming is a real danger and that human beings are responsible for it, so that we need to take drastic steps to reduce greenhouse gases. This has been the widespread response to a recent publication by the National Academy of Sciences, which many in the media have taken as proof that we need to follow the drastic requirements of the Kyoto accords, in order to reduce the threat of global warming.

There were some pretty heavy-weight scientists involved in the NAS discussions of the global warming issue. But, as the report itself stated clearly, these scientists not only did not write the report, they didn't even see it before it was published. They "were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendation nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release."

So much for "science" having "proved" global warming and its human causation. Scientists were used as window-dressing for a report made by government officials. Moreover, even that report was unable to claim unanimity among scientists on the global warming issue, though some in the media seem to think that it did.

The stampede toward draconian changes in our economy and in the whole American way of life required by the Kyoto accords is all too congenial to the mindset of the intelligentsia in general and the liberal media in particular. Anything that requires their superior wisdom and virtue to be imposed by government on the benighted masses has a favorable reception waiting in those quarters.

Back in the 1970s, the hysteria was about global cooling and the prospect of a new ice age. A National Academy of Sciences report back then led Science magazine to conclude in its March 1, 1975 issue that a long "ice age is a real possibility." According to the April 28, 1975 issue of Newsweek,"the earth's climate seems to be cooling down." A note of urgency was part of the global cooling hysteria then as much as it is part of today's global warming hysteria.

According to the February 1973 issue of Science Digest, "Once the freeze starts, it will be too late."

Nothing is easier than to come up with mathematical models and doomsday scenarios.

Politicians and government bureaucrats have been trying for well over a decade to sell a doomsday scenario of global warming, which would enhance the powers of -- you guessed it -- politicians and bureaucrats.

Although Professor Lindzen is one of the big names listed in the National Academy of Sciences report, he disagrees with the global warming hysteria. As Professor Lindzen notes, "the climate is always changing." Innumerable factors go into temperature changes and many of those factors, such as changing amounts of heat put out by the sun during different eras, are beyond the control of human beings.

Certain gasses, such as carbon dioxide, have the potential to affect temperature, but that is very different from saying that a particular rise in temperature during a particular era is necessarily due to "greenhouse gasses." A major part of the rising temperature over the past century took place before World War II -- which was also before the large increases in carbon dioxide emissions in our time.

The National Academy of Sciences report itself tiptoes around the fact that the timing of temperature increases does not coincide with the timing of increases in greenhouse gases. As the NAS report puts it: "The causes of these irregularities and the disparities in timing are not completely understood."

Even if we were to cripple our economy by carrying out the radical steps proposed in the Kyoto accords, this "would not result in a substantial reduction in global warming," according to Professor Lindzen. He laments the use of science "as a source of authority with which to bludgeon political opponents and propagandize uninformed citizens."